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One of the world’s leading human rights organizations is calling out the capitol of the world, New York City, for arresting half a million people for possession of pot, even though the practice has little clear public safety benefit.

In a study published Nov. 23 titled “A Red Herring“, Human Rights Watch found that “New York City police arrest more people for possessing small amounts of marijuana in public view than for any other offense.”

“Between 1996 and 2011, police made more than half-a-million (586,320) arrests for this misdemeanor, including a total of around 100,000 in just the 2 years of 2010 and 2011.”

The cops cannot explain why they do this, Human Rights Watch finds.

“Neither New York City police nor Mayor Michael Bloomberg has ever provided a detailed justification for the high numbers of marijuana arrests, suggesting only that the arrests improve public safety.”

“Marijuana arrests are deeply connected to New York City’s policing policy of intensive stop, question, and frisk, as well as arrests and summonses for low-level offenses in higher crime neighborhoods. These tactics are sometimes collectively called “broken windows,” “order maintenance,” or “quality of life” policing,” Human Rights Watch writes.

But it’s really “an easy way to target and acquire information—to institutionalize and routinize surveillance—on young people, particularly people of color…. Marijuana arrests are the best and easiest way currently available to acquire actual fingerprints, photos, and other data on young people, especially black and Latino youth, who have not previously been entered into the criminal justice databases.”

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